Andy Carroll to Liverpool for €40 Million: Does He Fit Dalgish's Philosophy?

If footballers were measured by their transfer fees, then newly transferred Liverpool target man Andy Carroll would be more valuable than a 22-year old Fernando Torres and 22-year old Thierry Henry–combined.

Such is the business of professional football in 2011. Thanks to Real Madrid's ridiculous purchases of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in 2009, combining for €157.5 million, footballers these days are worth double and sometimes triple their market-price.

Carroll is the perfect example of this.

A classic English target man, Carroll uses his size and strength to out-muscle the overly-physical Premier League defenders. A very good player for a mid-table team, Carroll could do a job for Liverpool; however, are his 15-20 goals per season worth €40 million?

The addition of Carroll will most likely force the club and manager Kenny Dalgish to switch philosophies.

Suarez and Carroll seem a very good fit, but what about the other nine players?

Under Hodgson, Liverpool played the classic 4-4-2 on eleven occasions, winning only four times and losing six.

They could keep the 4-3-3 variation that Dalgish has preferred since taking over. This would mean moving Suarez to the wing in a free role, the same fashion Barcelona and Spain utilize David Villa.

However, Liverpool still have a glaring weakness on the left flank.

Glen Johnson has prove to be quite useful out of position at left back, but he isn't maximizing his abilities.

Had the club turned their focus on Portuguese international Fabio Coentrao, they could have transferred a much more valuable player at a cheaper price; Darren Bent was also a viable option for half the price of Carroll.

Of course, Liverpool weren't exactly banking on Torres leaving, but that's football.

Instead of taking an astronomical gamble on Carroll–a half-hit wonder–Liverpool could have saved up and taken a bigger foray into the summer market. Now they've spent everything they earned from the Torres transfer and are more or less the same team.

It doesn't take an economics expert to realize that isn't good business.

You can watch Liverpool with their new stars against Stoke City